For Your Love Only
By Diana Von Lutzenrath
For Your Love Only
Diana Von Lutzenrath
Copyright 2015 by Diana Von Lutzenrath
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
Chapter 1
Seleni, Greece
Costa Eustakhios stood alone, squinting against the glare of the hot sun on the deep blue waters of the Aegean as he watched a familiar yacht cruise up to the dock. He had no trouble recognizing the vessel coming towards him because he had bought it himself, just last Christmas, as a gift for his brother Fidelio. Although the sight of Fidelio’s boat usually put him in a good mood, today was not that kind of day.
Leaning against the side of his truck, Costa was content to simply watch Fidelio, with an expertise born from years of sailing, cut the engine and allow his little pleasure vessel to drift up to the edge of the dock to bump gently against a brace of old tires fixed to the pilings. He did not cross the short distance of the dock to help moor the boat. Fidelio could manage without him, and Costa was still too uncertain of his temper to think it prudent to approach his brother just yet.
It was exactly as he had been warned, by a discreet phone call from an old family friend on Tanos. Fidelio was not alone. Fixing his dark gaze on the woman in the boat, Costa felt no surprise when he saw that she was tall, rail thin, and very, very blond. If he weren't already seething, he would be rolling his eyes at his brother’s pathetically predictable behavior.
Once again, Costa thought acerbically, I have to suffer an introduction to one of Fidelio’s vapid, interchangeable blond girlfriends.
At any other time he would not have cared. He was always indulgent of his brother Fidelio’s bad habits. Given his own penchant for gorgeous arm candy, Costa didn’t think he was in a position to censor another man’s choice of bedmate. This time, however, Costa was not going to be the least bit tolerant of his brother’s propensity to shack up with whatever silly piece of fair-haired trash that caught his eye.
Gritting his teeth, Costa could only fume inwardly at his brother’s lack of tact. It was one thing for Fidelio to parade his flavor of the day girlfriends around their home in Athens, or even to bring them to the family estate on Tanos, the larger and more developed island from which Fidelio had sailed an hour ago. It was quite another for him to bring his little slut with him to Seleni, Costa's private retreat.
Seleni was Costa's sanctuary, and he guarded it jealously. As an outrageously wealthy and powerful man, he was in constant demand, his life hardly his own. With all the family and business responsibilities resting on his shoulders, in addition to the intrusive curiosity of the outside world, he rarely had a moment to himself. Hounded by relatives, business associates, rivals, the press, paparazzi, women, sycophants, underlings, and an entourage of doting admirers, Costa depended on his time at Seleni to keep him sane.
The island was primitive and almost desolate. Aside from his large house, built into the cliffs on the other side of the islet, only a tiny village of fishermen and a lone goat-herder shared the inhospitable swath of rocky land that was liberally strewn with olive and lemon groves. Very few people knew of the island’s existence and even fewer ever got the chance to set foot ashore. Costa's security team made certain his privacy was maintained at all costs. Fidelio, as his brother, was always welcome on the island, but guests were not. It was an unspoken rule that Costa thought Fidelio, of all people, understood. It infuriated him to think he was mistaken and his brother could be so dense.
Eyeing the willowy blonde, Costa could barely hold his roiling resentment in check while watching the pair slowly disembarking from the boat. He was tempted to stalk down the dock and tell Fidelio not to waste his time, to turn the damn boat around, and go directly back to Tanos with his leggy tart du jour. Costa, though, was a man of intense reserve, not given to scenes even when there was no one to witness them.
Costa would wait until they were back at the house to speak to Fidelio in private. He was confident that within an hour the girl would be back on the boat and out of his hair, and smiled thinly at the thought of her consternation at being summarily kicked to the curb. A self-made man, there was nothing that brought him more enjoyment than to watch grasping, gold-digging succubi taken down a notch.
This one looks like a model, he thought coldly. He was certain she would throw one hell of a tantrum. He hated models with a vengeance; their air of superiority and self-entitlement set his teeth on edge. Costa had no patience for people who did not know the value of hard work, and in his opinion strutting around in hideous outfits that cost ungodly sums of money did not qualify as work.
When they finally shuffled over to him, it was with grave reluctance that Costa greeted the pair with a grunt. Fidelio was grinning broadly, a duffle bag in each hand and a pair of knapsacks slung over one shoulder. His ladylove brought up the rear, trailing a step behind Fidelio, holding only a large canvas tote. From her subdued expression Costa imagined the girl sensed his mood, a mood Fidelio appeared to be ignoring as he greeted him brightly.
Offering his brother only a curt nod, Costa said nothing as he threw open the back of his Range Rover so Fidelio could stow the bags inside. Clearly his brother was planning to stay more than the night, but that didn't deter Costa from his plan. Though he was loath to turn his only sibling and best friend away, in this case he would do so without hesitation. He was quietly furious with Fidelio for violating his home. Costa’s privacy was sacrosanct, and no one was allowed to breech it.
Without even sparing Fidelio's little friend a closer look, Costa climbed into the driver’s seat and impatiently gunned the engine. Fidelio did not take the hint. Opening the back door for his girlfriend and offering her a hand, he took his time graciously helping her up into the vehicle. Costa waited irritably as Fidelio made certain the girl was comfortable, even going as far as buckling her seatbelt for her, before he shut the door and went around the bonnet to climb into the passenger seat.
The instant Fidelio shut his door Costa stomped on the gas, whipping the car around in a tight, vicious circle. In the rearview mirror he could see the girl’s eyes open wide, and her pale face went white. Seeing her discomfort almost made him grin and his fury at Fidelio was forgotten. Flooring the accelerator, Costa watched the girl’s fingers dig into the leather seat and took the turn onto the winding road that circled the island at a reckless speed, considering they were still inside the small village with its narrow, cobblestone streets.
Beyond the village the road turned into a smooth ribbon of expertly paved asphalt. When he purchased the island, Costa hired a firm to build his house. Giving in to a fit of self-indulgence, he then had parts of the rocky island leveled and paved to create an exhilarating, twisting series of roads. It was pure folly to build a road on such a small island. There was no need for roads of any kind, but Costa kept several extremely fast cars at the house and often amused himself by taking them out on his own private racecourse. On Seleni he could zip around at ridiculous speeds. The island was almost uninhabited, so there was no risk of running anyone over, but as a precaution, the road was equipped with a sophisticated system of lights, full of motion
sensors and warning signals. Whenever Costa went out in one of his cars the system came on automatically, so the villagers knew to be careful if they were on the road. Therefore, Costa never felt the need to slow down.
Fidelio slapped a hand over Costa’s as he jammed the stick shift into a higher gear the instant they hit asphalt. Costa flashed him a look of annoyance, which he knew his brother could read despite the dark glasses he wore. Very deliberately, Costa depressed the accelerator again, until the pedal was flat on the floor of the cab.
"Slow down, Coco," Fidelio growled, using his pet name for Costa in an obvious attempt to disarm him.
Resenting the ploy, Costa could only wish it didn't have the desired effect. He automatically let up on the gas. "Better, Fifi?" he asked snidely, his mouth twisting in a mocking smile as he threw his own pet name for his brother right back at him in acidic tones. Fidelio, the bastard, shot him back a broad, careless grin.
The ride to the house felt interminable after that. Costa spent forever glaring at the scenery. In the back seat, the girl was doing the same, although she wasn't glaring. Her relentlessly even features took on a vague and dreamy expression as she studied the island through her window.
She looks vacuous, Costa told himself as they puttered along at a snail’s pace. What a bubble headed blond bimbo, he thought dismissively.
When they reached the house, Ari, the son of the middle-aged couple who maintained the property for Costa, was waiting for them. Ari, his wife Neni, and her parents, Gustav and Calamini, were the only servants Costa kept on Seleni. Calamini and Neni were in charge of cooking and keeping the house clean. Gustav was the gardener, tending the extensive gardens and the private beach, while Ari was the butler and general handyman who saw to any plumbing, carpentry, and general repairs that didn’t require a professional to be brought in.
Costa thought of the foursome as his own family, and as such he asked very little of them since he came to Seleni for solitude. The two couples lived in relative privacy in a pair of small cottages close to his house, literally within shouting distance. In spite of this, the property was outfitted with phones, electricity, and all the modern conveniences that Costa's work required of him.
Dismissing Ari with a curt shake of his head, Costa was not surprised to see the young man dart off into the house. His staff knew him well and could read his moods at a glance. It was rare that he was in anything but a good mood when he was on Seleni, because it was his private retreat, but Costa knew he possessed a nasty temper. Usually a person only had to experience him in a rage once, to know the signs of an approaching mood swing and head quickly for cover.
Feeling churlish, as he was not in the habit of taking his anger out on innocent people, especially not employees to whom he was warm and friendly, Costa took a deep, calming breath. When Fidelio went to take the luggage out of the car, Costa waved him into the house, deciding it would be best to get the unpleasantness over with as quickly as possible. He knew the faster the girl was gone the faster his temper would begin to cool.
"I was not expecting you, Fidelio," he began softly.
Removing his glasses with slow deliberation, buying time to choose his words, Costa caught himself on the verge of lashing out and wrestled mightily with his temper. There was no question of losing control, he was always careful to keep the rough edge of his tongue from Fidelio. He would never risk his relationship with his brother over anything so trivial as a woman.
Costa was very conscious of the girl, who followed them into the large, airy foyer of the house, and wished they did not have company so he could relax. His brother was probably the only person in the world around whom he actually felt he could let down his guard and he resented not being able to so now. It was out of the question for her to be given a room, since she would not be staying, just having her in the entrance of the house felt like an invasion of his privacy and made his hackles rise.
Fidelio chuckled as he turned to face Costa, hands on his hips, his broad grin undiminished. "I could say the same to you Costa."
"Oh, is that so?" Costa retorted, his voice growing even softer and bordering on dangerous. He was aware that Fidelio sometimes came to the island when he was not in residence, but as far as he knew his brother had always come alone or with a cousin or male friend, never with a woman. It incensed him to think Fidelio might have used his house as some sort of private love nest in the past.
"Yes, I thought you were going to be in Athens all month. Aren't you in the middle of negotiating some huge deal?"
Costa arched a thick black brow, "You are well informed brother," he purred coldly, "though your intel is not precisely current. I was in negotiations until yesterday afternoon when things spectacularly fell apart. Now, I am here."
"Ahhhh, what happened?"
Giving his brother a long, hard look, Costa smiled unpleasantly, "Why the sudden interest, Fifi? I've never known you to give a fig about business, unless your monthly allowance is involved," he bit out obnoxiously.
Fidelio had the gall to grin, utterly unruffled. Costa knew his brother was stalling, no doubt hoping his temper would cool sufficiently for him to grow amenable to whatever outrageous request Fidelio was planning to put to him.
"You seem rather tense Coco- stressed. I thought you might want to talk about it."
Costa almost laughed at Fidelio's attempt at humor, but refused to be charmed out of his righteous indignation. He knew he was usually a pushover where his brother was concerned. Unfortunately, so did Fidelio and he was obviously counting on Costa’s weak spot for him to work this situation in his favor.
Whereas Costa had a gift for business and was brilliant at making money, Fidelio was equally brilliant, only his talent lay in charming people. With his handsome face and jovial manner, Costa knew his brother was accustomed to getting what he wanted from anyone with just a practiced smile and a few droll words. He was just as susceptible as anyone to Fidelio, but at least Costa knew his failings concerning his brother and therefore could guard himself against his weakness.
"How kind of you to suddenly develop a conscience where I am concerned. Forgive me though if I am underwhelmed, considering you have never once shown an ounce of concern for my stress levels in the past. Get to the point Fifi, and make it quick, I'm in no mood for one of your long, drawn out fairy-tales," he gritted.
"Where are my manners?" Fidelio suddenly cried. "I haven't even introduced my friend! Costa, I want you to meet Tallia Maitland. Tallia, my brother Costa."
Giving Fidelio a furious glare, Costa had to turn to the girl and acknowledge her existence, since to keep ignoring her would be unthinkably rude. He thrust his hand out in a perfunctory gesture, rife with impatience, already hating her passionately. When she hesitated to take his hand and kept standing slightly behind Fidelio, Costa took a step forward, intent on getting the show of civility out of the way, and grabbed one of the limp hands that hung at her side. He gentled his touch the moment he felt her long, cool fingers against his and realized the girl was alarmingly frail.
She was nothing but skin and bones, her hand so delicate he was certain he could crush it without any effort. Her skin was velvet soft, her palm so smooth it felt like a baby’s. Clearly she had never done a day of work in her entire life. The notion filled him with disgust and he looked up from her hand to pierce her with a sharp glare, only to find his critical gaze ensnared by a pair of soft, cloudy blue eyes.
For a second Costa, holding Tallia Maitland's hand and looking deeply into her eyes, forgot his irritation, forgot everything really. The only thing he could register was that she was beautiful. Oh, he had known she would be, Fidelio did not go in for plain Jane's, but Tallia Maitland was something else entirely.
With her white, white skin, Tallia had an otherworldly look. Her skin was so thin in fact it was almost translucent. Her face was long and heart-shaped, her eyes large and faintly tilted up at the corners. She possessed the sort of bone structure few women could lay claim to, but she was thin to
the point of emaciation, her sky-high cheeks lean and almost hollow. The only thing saving her face from elfin perfection was her mouth, a soft, uneven curve of elegantly sculpted lips that were almost quivering now around a nervous, uncomfortable smile.
"Miss Maitland, a pleasure," he said, confounded when his voice came out low and rough, instead of curt and cold as he intended. Her spectacular looks, however, threw him.
Tallia Maitland was a stunner, no doubt, but not in the brash, obvious way of most of Fidelio's light o 'loves. She looks like a fairy, Costa thought with reluctant admiration. Everything about her was soft and lovely, she had hair so pale it was practically silver and her eyes were a shade of light, opaque blue that bordered on periwinkle, with a slightly unfocused quality that made him wonder if she had a brain in her head.
As if to prove him right in his less than stellar opinion of her intellect, she stared at him blankly for a moment before slowly nodding her head. "P-pleased to meet you, Mr. Eustakhios," she rasped, her voice hoarse to his ears, as if from disuse.
"Call me Costa," he corrected her, feeling like an old man when she used his surname.
"Oh, of course, then please call me Tallia," she replied a bit more quickly, though her eyes remained oddly dull and listless.
"Tallia," Fidelio said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. Costa noticed that she leaned into his brother's touch like a flower seeking the sun. "There's a bathroom down the hall and to the left."
She smiled faintly and nodded, "Thank you Fidelio, I'll only be a moment," she murmured, giving Costa a slight smile as she headed down the hall in the direction of the guest bathroom, weaving like a long wisp of grass in a gentle summer breeze.
"Is she on drugs?" Costa demanded the moment the bathroom door clicked shut.
He knew how models could be, had dated a few in his time, and knew his brother rarely looked past a woman's face. Fidelio could be shockingly lacking in circumspection when he was attracted to a woman. Over the years his brother had had several lovers who were junkies, drunkards, anorexics, and lunatics. When it came to girlfriends, it was the sane ones who were the exception; Fidelio tended to like his women crazy.
"Costa, don't be obnoxious!" Fidelio snapped and his good humor vanished, replaced by an angry frown.
Fidelio's over-protective attitude surprised Costa, in the past he knew his brother would generally laugh off such a question, even if it were true. He and Fidelio hid nothing from one another, so his sibling never felt the need to prevaricate. Costa had been privy, however involuntarily, to every piece of dirty laundry his brother possessed, and by association his brothers girlfriends dirt as well.
Suddenly Costas anger toward Fidelio was replaced with disappointed, because over the past two years he thought his brother had given up his wild ways and loose women, and was starting to grow up and settle down. Unfortunately, it looked as if that had just been a phase and the old, feckless Fidelio was going nowhere.
"I want you to be very nice to Tallia, she's been through a lot," Fidelio was lecturing him in a strident undertone, his eyes anxiously checking the closed bathroom door. "She is a dear friend, Coco. I expect you to treat her like a sister. She could be family… if things work out-"
The bathroom door popped open, and Fidelio swallowed whatever else he meant to stay, which left that little bomb to tick away between them. Costa was so stunned by what he just heard he could hardly hold on to his composure.
Is Fidelio actually suggesting that he means to marry the drug-addled pixie?!
Outraged by the idea of his brother wasting his time on such a pathetic creature, Costa almost let loose a hot blast of contempt. But when he saw the tender expression on Fidelio's face as his brother watched Tallia return to them, he bit back his hard words. He knew his brother. If he went on the attack Fidelio would only dig in his heels. Now he understood why Fidelio brought Tallia here. He meant to marry the bubblehead and was being forced to introduce her to Costa now, before he officially made the big announcement!
Incensed by his brother’s stupidity, Costa turned to watch Tallia as well and was hardly encouraged by what he saw. She walked with a hand against the wall as if she could barely stand on her own two feet. His eyes narrowed as he looked at her, and he wondered if she had been getting high in his bathroom. She had only been gone a moment, hardly enough time to use the facilities.
Fidelio rushed to the girl’s side and took her arm. She gave him a grateful smile that was no less stunning for its subdued quality, and leaned into him. Costa's gut clenched at the expression on her face and the emotion that stirred inside of him at the sight of her wan looks. He was instantly disgusted with himself for feeling such an immediate need to protect the girl, yet that was exactly the emotion that gripped him as he watched her move listlessly through his house.
This is bad… very bad, Costa thought to himself. He had to get rid of her and quickly. There was no way in hell he would allow some opportunistic little junky to sink her claws into his brother. He understood her game just as he understood all women. She was playing on Fidelio's sympathies, using his soft heart to take advantage of him.
Recognizing her game almost made Costa smile, and he began to plot his own counter strategy. He could not attack her outright, that would only make Fidelio more protective of her. He would have to be very careful, but that didn’t discourage him, he didn't for a moment think some druggy bimbo could get the best of him.
"Let me show you to a guest room, you look like you could use a nap before dinner," Fidelio told the girl as he wrapped a supportive arm around her tiny waist.
Costa's jaw clenched at the sight, but he forced all hostility from his face and managed to sound as mild as a Buddha when he finally spoke. "Why don't you take Tallia up to the blue room, Fife. It’s been aired out, and the bed is made. I'll bring up the luggage and talk to Calamini about dinner."
Fidelio tossed him a grateful smile, not even questioning his choice of guest rooms, which suited Costa perfectly. The blue room was directly across from his own suite of rooms and on the other side of the house from Fidelio's apartments. With this sleeping arrangement Costa felt confident he could keep an eye on Miss Maitland while ensuring the lovers were kept as far apart as was humanly possible.
For Your Love Only Page 1
